Sorry to keep you all in suspense! Our lawyer went to court on Tuesday and was nearly successful in getting the Kenyan travel order. The only problem was that it had the specific departure date of Dec 1st, our original travel date. We’re planning on leaving early so its safer for Meghan + Gracie and so we could fly home with Deda and Donna (4 extra hands! Woohoo!) on Nov 6th. The other minor glitch was that the magistrate wanted another proof of ownership (“search”) done on Sam’s land that we’re using as collateral. We’re not really sure why though, because the court has had the title in their possession since the last search in 2009. The problem with all this was the tight timeline: Thursday was a Kenyan holiday and we head to Nairobi on Sunday. So that left only Wednesday to get the search done and Friday for Were to go to court!

Things fell right into place though! I called Sam to see if he could rush down to Nakuru to get the search but he was already in Nakuru! So he got that and we delivered it early Friday morning to Were. He went to court at 2:30pm on a “rush” appointment to argue for an earlier leave time and to present the search. He was successful! The magistrate agreed to all terms and we now have the order and are ready for the embassy!

Our appointment at the US Embassy is on Monday at 9:30. Pray that they see the importance of the situation and approve the temporary visitor’s visa for Eden!

Were and his newest assistant!

Last Friday night, Deda, Papa and Uncle Colin arrived in Eldoret! Papa arrived without his luggage, but everything else made it. We’ve been very busy touring around Eldoret and the surrounding areas and have had fun spending time together.

Last Saturday we visited Kruger Farm, which is a farm, but also a sanctuary for giraffes and many different deer-like creatures. It was a bit cloudy, but we rode around in a truck (the boys rode in the back) and saw quite a few animals. After the farm, we went to Kerio View for lunch, which sits on the edge of the Rift Valley. We were treated to a “Choma” which is a lunch of different roasted meats. We had chicken, beef, pork and lamb as well as several side dishes. It was delicious and we had fun walking around the resort. After lunch we hiked out to Robert’s Point which is basically a large rock sticking out over the drop off. Dad almost made it his final resting place when he slid down the hill which led to the rock.

On Sunday we went to church. I think everyone liked seeing where we have been attending worship and the family met one of the pastor’s and his family. Colin was very quick to note “what a big boy” the pastor’s daughter is. 🙂 It’s hard to tell the difference here because almost all children have shaved heads and clothing is ambiguous. But it was still funny! Sunday night Mom had a run-in with Kenya’s version of Montezuma’s Revenge. Once she started her cipro she bounced back pretty quickly and was back to her normal self by Tuesday.

Monday Colin and Dad went to Sally Test Pediatric Center with me to lead a dance session. They were troopers, even though Dad told me he felt like he had just been through an aerobics class! We were all sweaty and tired, but had fun. Tuesday was a relaxing day around town. We hit a local hot spot for lunch called Sizzlers Cafe (Mom actually went in to the restaurant, but didn’t eat)- check out the pictures and you’ll understand, and then spent the afternoon around the compound. Wednesday we were back at Sally Test for crafts. We made masks, which the kids and workers loved!

Thursday we took a ride out to Kakamega Forest, which is a remnant of the rain forest that used to cover this area. We had a rough ride for the last 12 km, and were thankful for the 4-wheel drive vehicle we were in. We lunched under a mango tree and then started our 2 hour hike through the forest. We saw many interesting plants, some giant snails, several monkeys and a lot of butterflies. Eden fell asleep on Colin’s back and Andy was more interested in digging in the dirt then our hike, but overall it was very fun.

Today we went to Poa Place which is a local amusement park. We visited the zoo and saw lots of animals then made a quick stop at the trampolines. After that Eden played on the playground and Andy dug in the sand with his new shovel. We lunched (Dad LOVED his lamb chops) and the rest of us enjoyed chicken. Then we changed into bathing suits and played in the ice-cold swimming pool for a while.

This weekend we are traveling to Nakuru for a 2 day safari. We’re staying at the Lion’s Hill Lodge and are looking forward to our trip.

We hope you enjoy the pictures that we’ve posted!

Meghan joins me today as a “late 20 something”! To celebrate her birthday we’re going on a weekend excursion to Lake Baringo. Its meant to just be a relaxing time away from all the “hustle and bustle” of Kenyan life. Oh wait, no, we don’t have any hustle and bustle. I guess we’re just going for the pool and to get a close encounter with a hippo or two!

Meghan and I went to Lake Baringo in 2009 but stayed at a different hotel. When going out on our (rickety) canoe tour we passed by the Soi Safari Lodge and wished we had stayed there! So this time we’re doing it right and staying at the much higher quality hotel!

See more pictures on their website:
Soi Safari Lodge at Lake Baringo

Feel free to leave your comments below about how jealous you are…

In mid March (two weeks before we left) I ordered a minivan from Japan to be shipped to Kenya. It finally arrived at our doorstep last night! The process was fairly smooth:

1. Pick out a car
2. wire them some money
3. get told your car is now on a ship
4. wire them the rest of the money
5. receive documents in the mail for this imaginary vehicle
6. send friend to Mombasa to pick up said vehicle
7. friend gets delayed for 6 days while KRA computer systems are “upgraded”
8. send another friend to Nairobi to drive the car to Eldoret
9. Done!

The Kenyan fees were the lowest I could get, but were still substantial: the van was only 2 months younger than the max age they allow to be imported. The older the car the lower the fees (fee starts at 100% of value and goes down to our 30%). It also helped that the agent importing it was a friend of a friend, so no gouging and making up of new fees! Overall the cost of buying + shipping was only 60% of the total price.

Its a neat little car, a Nissan Liberty. Its small for a minivan, but will still seat all Wolfes comfortably (plus some guests). It has a navigation system (in japanese), a dvd player (in japanese), a backup camera, automatic sliding doors, and plenty of other bells and whistles! Meghan is determined to drive here now, so will take some “lessons” from a friend here. Not sure why she doesn’t want to learn from me, I’m a great Kenyan driver (read: willing to squeeze into tight places, drive in crowds, sneak between traffic, and generally be overly aggressive)!

The best news, though, is that that I already have 4 people lined up wanting to buy it when we leave. 😀 I’m thinking of starting the bidding now.

We were so excited to drive it to lunch today (a whole 2 minutes in the car) that we forgot to take some cute pictures. We’ll take some and post them tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Andy turned 15 months old on Friday! He really is turning into a little man. I was practically absent for 2 weeks while I was giving a training at the hospital to programmers (and then preparing/grading/working all night). So when it was done it really was a surprise to me how much he changed! He is willing to say any word we give him now. And he really wants to do anything that Eden does. If she climbs onto the couch, he’ll climb onto the couch. If she lays down and rolls around, he has to lay down and roll around. If she gets on the bicycle, he, well, pushes her around on the bicycle.

We just now are getting him to say “please” and “thank you”. And “yes” is at least sprinkled in amongst his “no”s. He loves to wave hello and goodbye. He says “mambo” (which is supposed to be “jambo”, swahili for “hi”) or “bye” while doing it and is very happy about it. He loves to push all kinds of buttons (not just Mommy’s): computers, dvd players, and phones are not safe. He likes to point out every “ndege” (bird) that he sees too…and sometimes I have a hard time finding it! He seems to have dropped his morning nap, which is great for Meghan because the kids naps are realigned!

Waiting as patiently as possible for breakfast...

Andy writing some OpenMRS code